First time writing them in this "no zombie" world and I kind of loved it. I might add random chapters to this one.

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The house was in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the woods, but Sherriff Rick Grimes drove, knowing exactly where it was. Everyone knew where Daryl Dixon's house was. In the seat beside him, his partner, Shane Walsh was talking about the game from last night but Rick wasn't listening. He didn't know how Shane wasn't more nervous about this. There wasn't a single part of him that wanted to do this. Daryl was a Dixon and the Dixons were completely unpredictable. Doing this, anything could happen.

The house was small and worn down, in need of a paint job, but as they got out of the car, Rick noted that the random junk from the front porch was gone and now, there were small bouquets of flowers hanging upside down, drying out. The front door was open and through the screen door, they could hear someone playing the piano. Rick knew who it was and he took a deep breath before stepping onto the creaky porch and raising a fist to knock on the screen door.

The playing stopped abruptly and a few moments later, Beth Greene – now Dixon – appeared, a warm smile on her face but it faded when she saw the two of them.

It had caused quite an uproar when sweet and young Beth Greene, daughter of Hershel Greene, had run off and gotten herself married to Daryl Dixon. No one understood how Hershel could just stand by and let that happen but the man was pretty much silent on the topic and was almost acting like a man alright with it.

"Hi, Beth," Rick took off his hat. "Can we come in?"

Without a word, Beth pushed open the screen door and stepped back so they could enter. The house inside was clean and neat, the house of people who didn't have money but made due with what they had.

"Daryl around?" Shane was the one to ask.

"He's out hunting but he should be back soon. You can sit and wait for him. Would you like something to drink? I have a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge. And I just made brownies," Beth said, already moving into the kitchen.

Shane was already sitting down on the couch and making himself comfortable. Rick was a little more hesitant, looking around as he sat down beside him. Beth returned, handing them two glasses of iced tea and Rick nodded his thanks to her, trying his best to give her a small smile, but Beth didn't return it, turning around and going back into the kitchen.

Beth had always been the sweetest girl, always smiling and ready with a kind word for anyone. She played the piano and sang in the church choir and volunteered at the daycare center his wife ran, helping watch the children whenever she could.

Daryl Dixon, on the other hand, was nothing like his young wife. A bit older, he was the brother of Merle Dixon and the son of Will Dixon and coming from blood like that, no one stood a chance at being a decent human being.

When everyone heard that Beth Greene was now Beth Dixon, most of them assumed that Daryl had kidnapped her and Rick prepared himself to be called to the house for a domestic disturbance, showing up to see sweet Beth Greene with a black eye.

Rick sipped at his iced tea and watched Beth stand at the kitchen counter, humming to herself as she cut into a pan of warm brownies, their sweet chocolate scent hanging in the air.

They all heard a clomp of heavy boots and then the back door opened.

"Fuck, it smells good in here," Daryl Dixon said, making his appearance.

"Daryl Dixon," Beth gave him a frown and pointed to a glass jar on the counter. Daryl sighed and muttered something and dug into his pants pocket. He pulled out a dime and dropped it in, the coin clanging against the others already collected in there. "Better," she then smiled and Rick watched as she bounced up on her toes, kissing him on the cheek. "How was hunting?" She asked.

But the question went unanswered as Daryl saw they had company. His face, just a second before, relaxed, went to stone, his eyes growing dark and his jaw clenching.

Rick got to his feet. "Daryl," he nodded his head towards him.

Daryl didn't say anything. He remained near the back door and pulled the crossbow off slung across his back. Beth took it from him and then standing on her toes, she whispered something in Daryl's ear and the man nodded his head slightly.

Finally, he approached them. Without a word, he sat down in the chair across from them and Rick sat back down.

"Came by to talk with you," Rick stated the obvious. "Last night, your brother was caught on surveillance holding up the Super Duper Gas Station. An eye witness reported that he saw someone else outside but couldn't get a clear look at him."

"You mind telling us where you were last night?" Shane asked.

Daryl didn't say anything at first and Rick saw his hands clenched into fists; his jaw clenched so tightly, muscles in his face were twitching. Rick looked at him and waited to say something but Daryl remained silent. Compared to Merle, Daryl was always the quieter of the brothers. Practically a mute next to Merle who never shut up.

"Daryl, if you can give us an alibi-" Rick began but Beth then stormed in from where she had been listening in on the conversation from the kitchen.

"He was here," Beth told him and Rick saw a fury in her eyes he didn't know Beth Greene was capable of.

"From what time to what time?" Shane asked.

"He was here all night," Beth turned her angry eyes on him. "My husband is not a minute man."

Rick looked to Daryl at that and was surprised to see the tips of Daryl Dixon's ears turning red and his eyes were now staring downwards almost as if the man was shy.

"You can prove that to us?" Shane asked and Rick cut him a quick glare.

That made Daryl get to his feet, his jaw, somehow, tightening even more. Beth placed herself in front of him as if she would have any chance of holding him back if that's what it came to.

"You want us to tape it next time?" Beth snapped.

"Alright," Rick stepped in. "We'll be going." He grabbed hold of Shane's arm and pulled him to the door. "Thanks for the iced tea, Beth," he said, none-too-gently pushing Shane back onto the porch. Rick paused though and looked to Beth. "You call me if you need me, Beth," he said. He glanced to Daryl and then back to Beth, making it obvious what he meant with his words.

"You can go now," she said and her jaw clenched just as Daryl's was behind her.

Rick slipped his hat back on and gave another head nod before stepping back onto the porch, the screen door slapping shut behind him. He turned just to see Daryl slam the front door behind them none-too-gently.

"Poor kid," Shane muttered. "Probably just got herself a beating."

And Rick almost found himself agreeing with him, especially when he heard a shriek from inside. His hand instantly went to the gun in the holster on his hip and he quickly looked through the front window. He stopped though, almost frozen to the spot. Beth was laughing, shrieking at Daryl, and he had tossed her over his shoulder as easily as any fireman.

But it was the smile on Daryl's face that made Rick stop, freezing still. He had known Daryl Dixon ever since he had joined the force and both he and his brother were two of the toughest sons of bitches Rick had ever seen. As far as he knew, he had never seen Daryl smile before; thought the man didn't even know how to. But he was now, smiling as Beth laughed and wiggled over his shoulder and his arms held onto her tightly.

Rick exhaled a sigh and felt the urge to knock again so he could apologize to them both for his inferences and assumptions but he didn't want to disturb them again. Instead, he pushed Shane towards the car so they could leave and give Daryl and Beth Dixon back their privacy.

He'd apologize at another time.

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Thank you for reading and please review!